Financial Services

Opinions vary on how great an impact Thailand’s floods will have on the country’s banking sector. While optimists believe Thai lenders will be left relatively unscathed by the natural disaster, others are less positive, fearing an increase in non-performing loans and a general slowing down of the economy.

There are signs that the Philippines insurance industry may be heading towards a period of solid growth, with both the state and the private sector stepping up efforts to encourage the public to embrace insurance as a way of life. It will be some time, however, before the domestic market will be able to rival that of most of its neighbours.

While Kuwait has to date played a relatively small role in the fast-growing global market for sukuks, or Islamic bonds, this could change, should lawmakers develop and implement a more robust legal framework to regulate the issuance of sharia-compliant debt.

Oman’s insurance industry is about to experience a major shift in direction, with sharia-compliant products, such as takaful, set to be launched onto the market. This is part of a broader programme of reforms that are opening up the financial sector to Islamic insurers and banks.

Investment rates among black South Africans on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) have held steady over the past 12 months, despite market fluctuations and uncertainty over the local and global economy. Burgeoning pension and trust fund investments could also see increasing participation rates in South Africa’s black capital markets in coming years.